Evidence map›Paper›PMID 20513781›Full record

ArticleCMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne2010

Use of antidepressants during pregnancy and the risk of spontaneous abortion.

Hamid Reza Nakhai-Pour, Perrine Broy, Anick Bérard

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
46citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
20.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

46 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 168 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  5. First trimester antidepressant use and miscarriage: a population-based cohort study using Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025
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  18. Associations between low- and high-dose oral fluconazole and pregnancy outcomes: 3 nested case-control studies.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2019
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Hamid Reza Nakhai-PourFaculty of Pharmacy, University of Montreal, Montréal, Que., Canada.
Perrine Broy
Anick Bérard
Université de Montréal · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe risk of relapse of depression or the diagnosis of some other psychiatric disorders during pregnancy necessitates the use of antidepressants despite possible adverse effects. Whether such use increases the risk of spontaneous abortion is still being debated. We evaluated the risk of spontaneous abortion in relation to the use of antidepressants during pregnancy.

methodsUsing a nested case-control study design, we obtained data from the Quebec Pregnancy Registry for 5124 women who had a clinically detected spontaneous abortion. For each case, we randomly selected 10 controls from the remaining women in the registry who were matched by the case's index date (date of spontaneous abortion) and gestational age at the time of spontaneous abortion. Use of antidepressants was defined by filled prescriptions and was compared with nonuse. We also studied the classes, types and doses of antidepressants.

resultsA total of 284 (5.5%) of the women who had a spontaneous abortion had at least one prescription for an antidepressant filled during the pregnancy, as compared with 1401 (2.7%) of the matched controls (odds ratio [OR] 2.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.83-2.38). After adjustment for potential confounders, we found that the use of antidepressants during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion (OR 1.68, 95%CI 1.38-2.06). Stratified analyses showed that use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors alone (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.28-2.04), serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors alone (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.34-3.30) and combined use of antidepressants from different classes (OR 3.51, 95% CI 2.20-5.61) were associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion. When we looked at antidepressant use by type versus no use, paroxetine use alone (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.31-2.34) and venlafaxine use alone (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.34-3.30) were associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion.

interpretationThe use of antidepressants, especially paroxetine, venlafaxine or the combined use of different classes of antidepressants, during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion.

Indexed as

Abortion, SpontaneousAdolescentAdultAntidepressive AgentsAntidepressive Agents, TricyclicCase-Control StudiesConfidence IntervalsCyclohexanolsDepressive DisorderDose-Response Relationship, DrugDrug Therapy, CombinationFemaleGestational AgeHumansMiddle AgedOdds RatioAntidepressive AgentsAntidepressive Agents, TricyclicCyclohexanolsParoxetineSelective Serotonin Reuptake InhibitorsVenlafaxine Hydrochloride

Identifiers

PMID20513781
PMCPMC2900326
OpenAlexW2163736307

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.